Oh my, but is this an issue of treasures! Let's start with the cover. Erol Otus in his weird best. Looks like the same cave system our intrepid adventures are battling a dragon in on the cover the Basic Set.
Otus is one of those artist people either love or hate. I always loved his style and subjects, but sometimes it was like viewing D&D while on mushrooms. I mean seriously, what the hell is that thing? Why does it have such perfect teeth? Who is that little gnome dude and what the hell is his staff for? I have no answers but I think D&D is better off in general because of EO. I am not sure what that thing is but as DM I'd love to stick him into a dungeon. As someone that appreciates art though I don't want to define it. Stay weird giant toothy slug monster. Stay weird.
The next page is one of the true odd and rare finds in the D&D merchandising landscape. The official Dungeons & Dragons portfolios. I had one of these way back when, but it got destroyed. Now they go for outrageous sums on eBay. I used to keep characters in it and I had it till about the late 80s.
A feature missing from newer incarnations of Dragon is here; Cover to Cover. Which...hmm...covers what is going on in this issue. No need to detail it here since that is what I am doing anyway.
The Letters section cover various topics from previous issues including some discussion on the Monk class. I never fely that *D&D got a good grip on the what the monk was supposed to be in D&D until about 3rd Edition.
Up next is the first big controversy in AD&D that I can remember. The Fiend Folio and whether or not it is any good.
Up first is Ed Greenwood with Flat Taste Didn't Go Away. Ouch. That is a bit harsh Ed and the article doesn't get much lighter. I am sure there were plenty of old-school AD&D fans who were at the time saying "Who the hell is this Ed Greenwood guy and why do I care about his opinion?" Sy though, Ed is no fan of this book and calls many of the monsters incomplete, inadequate and many are redundant. AND to be 100% fair he is making some very good points here. The editing is all over the place, many of the monsters are useless or way overpowered in some respects.
Alan Zumwalt follows this with Observations of a Semi-Satisfied Customer. An endorsement, but not the ringing endorsement one might want.
Not to be forgotten Don Turnbull, Managing Director of TSR UK, Ltd. and Editor of the FIEND FOLIO Tome ends with his Apologies - and Arguments; his defense of the Fiend Folio.
All three articles make good points and overreach in others. In the end, I still love the Fiend Folio, not despite its weirdness, but because of it. I have decided though that when I run a pure Forgotten Realms game that I will not include any of the monsters that Ed found objectionable. I was going to say not include any from this book, but that includes Drow and we know that isn't going to happen!
What were your thoughts on the Fiend Folio?
We follow this with a big ad for White Dwarf. You know those guys that gave us the Fiend Folio in the first place? (more or less).
Ah. Now here is something fun.
Lawrence Schick has a nice big article on Dinosaurs, New Theories for Old Monsters. Plenty of stats of various prehistoric beasts are given. I am not sure if these would later appear in the Monser Manual II or not but they feel familiar.
The man himself is back with a new From the Sorcerer's Scroll. Gary lets us know he is still working on the Temple of Elemental Evil (it doesn't quite come out the way he wants) and more on Greyhawk. A lot of this in one form or another would later reappear in the Greyhawk Boxed set.
Ever want to include Robin Hood and his merry men in your game?
Well thanks to Katharine Kerr you can! Robin, Wil Scarlet, Little John, Friar Tuck and of course the Sheriff of Nottingham himself (looking exactly like Roger Delgado as The Master from Doctor Who).
The fiction section is next and holy shit! It's Gardner Fox! Fox might not be the biggest name in D&D but in comics? I put him in the pantheon of the Great Old Gods like Kirby and Lee. I have not read The Coming of the Sword, but I think I should. It is an installment in the saga of Niall the Far-Traveler. This is exactly the sort of thing I love finding in these old dragons. Gardner Fox..."slumming" at Dragon! The story looks cool and it's actually pretty long.
Our centerpiece is another rarity. A D&D Basic-Set adventure. Seriously. Is this like the most 1981 issue ever?? The Creature of Rhyl by Kevin Knuth is a Basic D&D adventure for 2 to 12(!) characters under 3rd level. It is a nice combination of exploration, plot-driven mystery, and dungeon crawl with a freaking dragon at the end! It makes for a great introduction adventure really and one that can be easily adapted to any version of the game.
The Electric Eye has answers to last month's computer terminology quiz. At this point in time, I am learning to program in BASIC on the very high tech TRS-80 Model III in my school.
The many ways of getting away: Methods and magic to keep your character out of the crypt by Pat Reinken covers the many ways your character can avoid death. Or as I like to call it, Advanced Running Away.
Jon Mattson is next with some Traveller advice on skills in Filling in Skills, Experience, service-switching make TRAVELLER more ability-oriented. I have mentioned in my reveiws of White Dwarf I was already taking a pass on Traveler at this point. I was gravitating more towards Chill and other horror games and I could not find anyone to play Traveller with.
The Monuments of Minaria is the next installment of the Minarian Legends series for the Divine Right game. Though I get the feeling that one is not only expected to convert to other games (coughD&Dcough) but encouraged too.
Dragon's Bestiary is next. What a nightmarish mix! The Devil Spider, with text and art by Erol Otus. The Surchur by Jeff Brandt and the Dyll by Ed Greenwood. We also get a new, non-evil but very chaotic, version of the Poltergeist by Craig Stenseth.
Practicing Game Design IV: State of the Art is the fourth of a five-part miniseries
in Jack Parados' Simulation Corner that gives a detailed but non-technical answer to the question of how to make a game. This month covers the experiences the author has had with successful game designers.
Jeff Swycaffer reviews the Universe RPG in Universe is an Artistic Triumph. I have always been curious about this game. He deems it superior to Traveller in almost every respect.
Kim Mohan reviews some gaming accessories.
Various minis, back when they were still made of lead.
Next, we have a real oddity. A Larry Elmore penned and drawn comic "Da Letter" that can only be described as Proto-Snarf. I am a bit surprised this never comes up in discussions of Snarf Quest.
Phil and Dixie are still in Black & White at this point.
Wormy is in color.
So. Wow. What an issue. Not just for crazy nostalgia fun, but for being so packed full of great stuff. AND stuff I can still use today really. The Basic set adventure, Robin Hood, all sorts of great stuff here. I am glad I took extra time on this one (I started reading it two weeks ago!)
Now compare this issue to what was happing in White Dwarf #27 from the same time in my White Dwarf Wednesday #27. Similar themes but White Dwarf was moving more towards Traveller at this point. Mimics the gaming scene I was in during the last days of 1981. I was digging D&D Basic but a good sized chunk was headed to Traveller.
What are your memories of this time?
Hoo boy. 1981 was when I was really getting into D&D and working my parents over to get the Moldvay set for my brother and me. I'd been playing it at recess for about a year with my PC: Thor Guth, a fighter.
ReplyDeleteSometime in November or December of '81, Dad took me to Woolworth's so I could point out the D&D box we wanted. Mom and Dad figured the game was perfect for keeping us entertained at Grandmom's while they went on a skiing trip.
We were still almost two years away from acquiring any Dragon magazines (76 / August 1983 would be my first issue purchased), though. After moving in May 1982, the kids in the next town were playing AD&D, so by Christmas of 1982 we converted over. Once I became a paperboy in the new town and a friend from our prior neighborhood led me to the local comic book store, I had a source and means to buy my two new loves: Dragon Magazine and the comic, Groo the Wanderer.
Excellent work, Tim. You are correct: Issue 55 is a gem of an issue.
Just picked up a spare, fairly good condition, of this issue last Saturday. Such an evocative cover.
ReplyDeleteGeez, Fiend Folio. Possibly the most evocative cover of anything I'd ever seen, and full of weird monsters. It's the first AD&D monster book I owned, so I knew those creatures as normal and basic before I'd ever seen the Monster Manual.
ReplyDeleteWhich monsters did Ed object to?
ReplyDeleteLots of neat stuff, but I think the 3 dollar price tag on the Dragon Mag is the best bit of nostalgia for me. So very long ago!
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the old Dragon mag brings back memories. I started reading* around issue 42 but didn't buy for myself until around issue 60 or so. As for what I was doing, by late 1981 I was active in Greenville MS's local war/RPG gaming group the Delta Area Wargamers. I was (*) reading a lot of magazines from friends collections, most notably Dragon and The Space Gamer. Each of us got one mag (I subscribed to the Journal of the Travellers Aid Society) and we'd trade each month to read 'em all.
ReplyDeleteAs for Fiend Folio, it was hit or miss with my group. But when it hit.... Awesome sauce! The Crypt Thing, the Skeleton Warrior, Death Knight, Githyanki/Gizerai...and that vampire who was just a woman's head and guts (can't recall the name). Great! Things like the Xvart? No thanks. :)
Mike Stewart
This was the issue I first picked up at our local hobby shop lead to a nice 19 year relationship. Also this was the one the wife started collecting.
ReplyDelete